Reference signal detection

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the disclosure are related to identifying whether an apparatus (e.g., base station, access point, etc.) is transmitting using a CRS based transmission scheme or a UE-RS based transmission scheme. Such detection may be necessary for PDSCH interference cancellation (IC) of a neighboring cell since a UE may not know which transmission scheme is used by the neighboring cell. For instance, the UE may know the transmission scheme of the serving cell, but the UE may not know the transmission scheme of a neighboring non-serving cell. As such, aspects of the disclosure provide for a blind detection algorithm to identify or determine a transmission mode or transmission scheme of a neighboring cell to then apply interference cancellation (IC) to an interfering signal received from the neighboring cell.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-provisional applicationSer. No. 13/467,945, entitled “REFERENCE SIGNAL DETECTION” and filed onMay 9, 2012, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional ApplicationSer. No. 61/556,596, entitled “REFERENCE SIGNAL DETECTION” and filed onNov. 7, 2011, which are expressly incorporated by reference herein intheir entirety.

BACKGROUND

Field

The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, andmore particularly, to reference signal detection in wirelesscommunication systems.

Background

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide varioustelecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employmultiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication withmultiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth,transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access technologies includecode division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multipleaccess (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA)systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems,single-carrier frequency divisional multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems,and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA)systems.

These multiple access technologies have been adopted in varioustelecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enablesdifferent wireless devices to communicate on a municipal, national,regional, and even global level. An example of an emergingtelecommunication standard is Long Term Evolution (LTE). LTE is a set ofenhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)mobile standard promulgated by Third Generation Partnership Project(3GPP). It is designed to better support mobile broadband Internetaccess by improving spectral efficiency, lower costs, improve services,make use of new spectrum, and better integrate with other open standardsusing OFDMA on the downlink (DL), SC-FDMA on the uplink (UL), andmultiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology. However, asthe demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, thereexists a need for further improvements in LTE technology. Preferably,these improvements should be applicable to other multi-accesstechnologies and the telecommunication standards that employ thesetechnologies.

SUMMARY

As described herein, aspects of the disclosure are related toidentifying whether an apparatus (e.g., base station, access point,etc.) is transmitting using a CRS based transmission scheme or a UE-RSbased transmission scheme. Such detection may be necessary forinterference cancellation (IC) of a neighboring cell since a UE may notknow which transmission scheme is used by the neighboring cell. Forinstance, the UE may know the transmission scheme of the serving cell,but the UE may not know the transmission scheme of a neighboringnon-serving cell. As such, aspects of the disclosure provide for a blinddetection algorithm to identify or determine a transmission mode ortransmission scheme of a neighboring cell to then apply interferencecancellation (IC) to an interfering signal received from the neighboringcell. In an implementation, interference cancellation (IC) may includePDSCH IC. In other implementations, the CRS versus UE-RS detectionscheme may be used in other scenarios not involving PDSCH IC or notinvolving multiple cells. Further, the detection techniques describedherein may be based on a received signal. However, in reference to PDSCHIC, it should be noted that the detection techniques described hereinmay be based on the received signal minus an estimated serving cellsignal. For instance, the serving cell signal may be cancelled, and theremaining signal is the received signal minus the serving cell signal.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a method, an apparatus,and a computer program product for cancelling interference over wirelesscommunications includes receiving a signal, the received signalincluding a first cell signal from a first cell and a second cell signalfrom a second cell, detecting a transmission scheme of the second cellsignal, determining whether the transmission scheme comprises a commonreference signal (CRS) based transmission scheme or a UE referencesignal (UE-RS) based transmission scheme, and cancelling interferencefrom the received signal due to the second cell signal based, at leastin part, on the determined transmission scheme.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network architecture.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an access network.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a DL frame structure inLTE.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of an UL frame structure inLTE.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a radio protocolarchitecture for the user and control plane.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an evolved Node B anduser equipment in an access network.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a range expanded cellular region in aheterogeneous network.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for illustrating an exemplary method.

FIGS. 9-13 are diagrams illustrating methods for cancelling interferenceover wireless communications.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual data flow diagram illustrating the data flowbetween different modules/means/components in an exemplary apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus employing a processing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented withreference to various apparatus and methods. These apparatus and methodswill be described in the following detailed description and illustratedin the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components,circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred toas “elements”). These elements may be implemented using electronichardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether suchelements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem.

By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or anycombination of elements may be implemented with a “processing system”that includes one or more processors. Examples of processors includemicroprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices(PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, andother suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionalitydescribed throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in theprocessing system may execute software. Software shall be construedbroadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments,program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications,software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines,objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc.,whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode,hardware description language, or otherwise.

Accordingly, in one or more exemplary embodiments, the functionsdescribed may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or anycombination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may bestored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computerstorage media. Storage media may be any available media that can beaccessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, suchcomputer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desiredprogram code in the form of instructions or data structures and that canbe accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includescompact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc(DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce datamagnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an LTE network architecture 100. TheLTE network architecture 100 may be referred to as an Evolved PacketSystem (EPS) 100. The EPS 100 may include one or more user equipment(UE) 102, an Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)104, an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 110, a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)120, and an Operator's IP Services 122. The EPS can interconnect withother access networks, but for simplicity those entities/interfaces arenot shown. As shown, the EPS provides packet-switched services, however,as those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, the variousconcepts presented throughout this disclosure may be extended tonetworks providing circuit-switched services.

The E-UTRAN includes the evolved Node B (eNB) 106 and other eNBs 108.The eNB 106 provides user and control plane protocol terminations towardthe UE 102. The eNB 106 may be connected to the other eNBs 108 via an X2interface (e.g., backhaul). The eNB 106 may also be referred to as abase station, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, a radiotransceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), anextended service set (ESS), or some other suitable terminology. The eNB106 provides an access point to the EPC 110 for a UE 102. Examples ofUEs 102 include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiationprotocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), asatellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia device, avideo device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player), a camera, agame console, or any other similar functioning device. The UE 102 mayalso be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station, asubscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, aremote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wirelesscommunications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, anaccess terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remoteterminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or someother suitable terminology.

The eNB 106 is connected by an S1 interface to the EPC 110. The EPC 110includes a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 112, other MMEs 114, aServing Gateway 116, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 118. TheMME 112 is the control node that processes the signaling between the UE102 and the EPC 110. Generally, the MME 112 provides bearer andconnection management. All user IP packets are transferred through theServing Gateway 116, which itself is connected to the PDN Gateway 118.The PDN Gateway 118 provides UE IP address allocation as well as otherfunctions. The PDN Gateway 118 is connected to the Operator's IPServices 122. The Operator's IP Services 122 may include the Internet,the Intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), and a PS StreamingService (PSS).

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an access network 200 inan LTE network architecture. In this example, the access network 200 isdivided into a number of cellular regions (cells) 202. One or more lowerpower class eNBs 208 may have cellular regions 210 that overlap with oneor more of the cells 202. A lower power class eNB 208 may be, forexample, a remote radio head (RRH). Alternatively, the lower power classeNB 208 may be a femto cell (e.g., home eNB (HeNB)), pico cell, or microcell. The macro eNBs 204 are each assigned to a respective cell 202 andare configured to provide an access point to the EPC 110 for all the UEs206 in the cells 202. There is no centralized controller in this exampleof an access network 200, but a centralized controller may be used inalternative configurations. The eNBs 204 are responsible for all radiorelated functions including radio bearer control, admission control,mobility control, scheduling, security, and connectivity to the servinggateway 116.

The modulation and multiple access scheme employed by the access network200 may vary depending on the particular telecommunications standardbeing deployed. In LTE applications, OFDM is used on the DL and SC-FDMAis used on the UL to support both frequency division duplexing (FDD) andtime division duplexing (TDD). As those skilled in the art will readilyappreciate from the detailed description to follow, the various conceptspresented herein are well suited for LTE applications. However, theseconcepts may be readily extended to other telecommunication standardsemploying other modulation and multiple access techniques. By way ofexample, these concepts may be extended to Evolution-Data Optimized(EV-DO) or Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB). EV-DO and UMB are air interfacestandards promulgated by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2(3GPP2) as part of the CDMA2000 family of standards and employs CDMA toprovide broadband Internet access to mobile stations. These concepts mayalso be extended to Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) employingWideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and other variants of CDMA, such as TD-SCDMA;Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) employing TDMA; andEvolved UTRA (E-UTRA), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, and Flash-OFDM employingOFDMA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE and GSM are described in documents fromthe 3GPP organization. CDMA2000 and UMB are described in documents fromthe 3GPP2 organization. The actual wireless communication standard andthe multiple access technology employed will depend on the specificapplication and the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

The eNBs 204 may have multiple antennas supporting MIMO technology. Theuse of MIMO technology enables the eNBs 204 to exploit the spatialdomain to support spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and transmitdiversity. Spatial multiplexing may be used to transmit differentstreams of data simultaneously on the same frequency. The data steamsmay be transmitted to a single UE 206 to increase the data rate or tomultiple UEs 206 to increase the overall system capacity. This isachieved by spatially precoding each data stream (i.e., applying ascaling of an amplitude and a phase) and then transmitting eachspatially precoded stream through multiple transmit antennas on the DL.The spatially precoded data streams arrive at the UE(s) 206 withdifferent spatial signatures, which enables each of the UE(s) 206 torecover the one or more data streams destined for that UE 206. On theUL, each UE 206 transmits a spatially precoded data stream, whichenables the eNB 204 to identify the source of each spatially precodeddata stream.

Spatial multiplexing is generally used when channel conditions are good.When channel conditions are less favorable, beamforming may be used tofocus the transmission energy in one or more directions. This may beachieved by spatially precoding the data for transmission throughmultiple antennas. To achieve good coverage at the edges of the cell, asingle stream beamforming transmission may be used in combination withtransmit diversity.

In the detailed description that follows, various aspects of an accessnetwork will be described with reference to a MIMO system supportingOFDM on the DL. OFDM is a spread-spectrum technique that modulates dataover a number of subcarriers within an OFDM symbol. The subcarriers arespaced apart at precise frequencies. The spacing provides“orthogonality” that enables a receiver to recover the data from thesubcarriers. In the time domain, a guard interval (e.g., cyclic prefix)may be added to each OFDM symbol to combat inter-OFDM-symbolinterference. The UL may use SC-FDMA in the form of a DFT-spread OFDMsignal to compensate for high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR).

FIG. 3 is a diagram 300 illustrating an example of a downlink (DL) framestructure in LTE. A frame (10 ms) may be divided into 10 equally sizedsub-frames. Each sub-frame may include two consecutive time slots. Aresource grid may be used to represent two time slots, each time slotincluding a resource block. The resource grid is divided into multipleresource elements. In LTE, a resource block contains 12 consecutivesubcarriers in the frequency domain and, for a normal cyclic prefix ineach OFDM symbol, 7 consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain, or 84resource elements. For an extended cyclic prefix, a resource blockcontains 6 consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain and has 72resource elements. Some of the resource elements, as indicated as R 302,304, include DL reference signals (DL-RS). Some of the resource elementsmay include data 306. As shown in FIG. 3, the DL-RS includesCell-specific RS (CRS) (which may be referred to as common RS) 302 andUE-specific RS (UE-RS) 304 (shown with antenna port 9 or 10configuration). UE-RS 304 are not transmitted on the resource blocksupon which the corresponding physical DL control channel (PDCCH) ismapped. As such, UE-RS 304 are transmitted only on the resource blocksupon which the corresponding physical DL shared channel (PDSCH) ismapped. The number of bits carried by each resource element depends onthe modulation scheme. Thus, the more resource blocks that a UE receivesand the higher the modulation scheme, the higher the data rate for theUE.

FIG. 4 is a diagram 400 illustrating an example of an UL frame structurein LTE. The available resource blocks for the UL may be partitioned intoa data section and a control section. The control section may be formedat the two edges of the system bandwidth and may have a configurablesize. The resource blocks in the control section may be assigned to UEsfor transmission of control information. The data section may includeall resource blocks not included in the control section. The UL framestructure results in the data section including contiguous subcarriers,which may allow a single UE to be assigned all of the contiguoussubcarriers in the data section.

A UE may be assigned resource blocks 410 a, 410 b in the control sectionto transmit control information to an eNB. The UE may also be assignedresource blocks 420 a, 420 b in the data section to transmit data to theeNB. The UE may transmit control information in a physical UL controlchannel (PUCCH) on the assigned resource blocks in the control section.The UE may transmit only data or both data and control information in aphysical UL shared channel (PUSCH) on the assigned resource blocks inthe data section. A UL transmission may span both slots of a subframeand may hop across frequency.

A set of resource blocks may be used to perform initial system accessand achieve UL synchronization in a physical random access channel(PRACH) 430. The PRACH 430 carries a random sequence and cannot carryany UL data/signaling. Each random access preamble occupies a bandwidthcorresponding to six consecutive resource blocks. The starting frequencyis specified by the network. That is, the transmission of the randomaccess preamble is restricted to certain time and frequency resources.There is no frequency hopping for the PRACH. The PRACH attempt iscarried in a single subframe (1 ms) or in a sequence of few contiguoussubframes and a UE can make only a single PRACH attempt per frame (10ms).

FIG. 5 is a diagram 500 illustrating an example of a radio protocolarchitecture for the user and control planes in LTE. The radio protocolarchitecture for the UE and the eNB is shown with three layers: Layer 1,Layer 2, and Layer 3. Layer 1 (L1 layer) is the lowest layer andimplements various physical layer signal processing functions. The L1layer will be referred to herein as the physical layer 506. Layer 2 (L2layer) 508 is above the physical layer 506 and is responsible for thelink between the UE and eNB over the physical layer 506.

In the user plane, the L2 layer 508 includes a media access control(MAC) sublayer 510, a radio link control (RLC) sublayer 512, and apacket data convergence protocol (PDCP) 514 sublayer, which areterminated at the eNB on the network side. Although not shown, the UEmay have several upper layers above the L2 layer 508 including a networklayer (e.g., IP layer) that is terminated at the PDN gateway 118 on thenetwork side, and an application layer that is terminated at the otherend of the connection (e.g., far end UE, server, etc.).

The PDCP sublayer 514 provides multiplexing between different radiobearers and logical channels. The PDCP sublayer 514 also provides headercompression for upper layer data packets to reduce radio transmissionoverhead, security by ciphering the data packets, and handover supportfor UEs between eNBs. The RLC sublayer 512 provides segmentation andreassembly of upper layer data packets, retransmission of lost datapackets, and reordering of data packets to compensate for out-of-orderreception due to hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ). The MACsublayer 510 provides multiplexing between logical and transportchannels. The MAC sublayer 510 is also responsible for allocating thevarious radio resources (e.g., resource blocks) in one cell among theUEs. The MAC sublayer 510 is also responsible for HARQ operations.

In the control plane, the radio protocol architecture for the UE and eNBis substantially the same for the physical layer 506 and the L2 layer508 with the exception that there is no header compression function forthe control plane. The control plane also includes a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) sublayer 516 in Layer 3 (L3 layer). The RRC sublayer 516is responsible for obtaining radio resources (i.e., radio bearers) andfor configuring the lower layers using RRC signaling between the eNB andthe UE.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an eNB 610 in communication with a UE 650in an access network. In the DL, upper layer packets from the corenetwork are provided to a controller/processor 675. Thecontroller/processor 675 implements the functionality of the L2 layer.In the DL, the controller/processor 675 provides header compression,ciphering, packet segmentation and reordering, multiplexing betweenlogical and transport channels, and radio resource allocations to the UE650 based on various priority metrics. The controller/processor 675 isalso responsible for HARQ operations, retransmission of lost packets,and signaling to the UE 650.

The TX processor 616 implements various signal processing functions forthe L1 layer (i.e., physical layer). The signal processing functionsincludes coding and interleaving to facilitate forward error correction(FEC) at the UE 650 and mapping to signal constellations based onvarious modulation schemes (e.g., binary phase-shift keying (BPSK),quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK),M-quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulatedsymbols are then split into parallel streams. Each stream is then mappedto an OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot)in the time and/or frequency domain, and then combined together using anInverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) to produce a physical channelcarrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The OFDM stream is spatiallyprecoded to produce multiple spatial streams. Channel estimates from achannel estimator 674 may be used to determine the coding and modulationscheme, as well as for spatial processing. The channel estimate may bederived from a reference signal and/or channel condition feedbacktransmitted by the UE 650. Each spatial stream is then provided to adifferent antenna 620 via a separate transmitter 618TX. Each transmitter618TX modulates an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream fortransmission.

At the UE 650, each receiver 654RX receives a signal through itsrespective antenna 652. Each receiver 654RX recovers informationmodulated onto an RF carrier and provides the information to thereceiver (RX) processor 656. The RX processor 656 implements varioussignal processing functions of the L1 layer. The RX processor 656performs spatial processing on the information to recover any spatialstreams destined for the UE 650. If multiple spatial streams aredestined for the UE 650, they may be combined by the RX processor 656into a single OFDM symbol stream. The RX processor 656 then converts theOFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to the frequency domain using aFast Fourier Transform (FFT). The frequency domain signal comprises aseparate OFDM symbol stream for each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. Thesymbols on each subcarrier, and the reference signal, is recovered anddemodulated by determining the most likely signal constellation pointstransmitted by the eNB 610. These soft decisions may be based on channelestimates computed by the channel estimator 658. The soft decisions arethen decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data and control signalsthat were originally transmitted by the eNB 610 on the physical channel.The data and control signals are then provided to thecontroller/processor 659.

The controller/processor 659 implements the L2 layer. Thecontroller/processor can be associated with a memory 660 that storesprogram codes and data. The memory 660 may be referred to as acomputer-readable medium. In the UL, the control/processor 659 providesdemultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packetreassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processingto recover upper layer packets from the core network. The upper layerpackets are then provided to a data sink 662, which represents all theprotocol layers above the L2 layer. Various control signals may also beprovided to the data sink 662 for L3 processing. Thecontroller/processor 659 is also responsible for error detection usingan acknowledgement (ACK) and/or negative acknowledgement (NACK) protocolto support HARQ operations.

In the UL, a data source 667 is used to provide upper layer packets tothe controller/processor 659. The data source 667 represents allprotocol layers above the L2 layer. Similar to the functionalitydescribed in connection with the DL transmission by the eNB 610, thecontroller/processor 659 implements the L2 layer for the user plane andthe control plane by providing header compression, ciphering, packetsegmentation and reordering, and multiplexing between logical andtransport channels based on radio resource allocations by the eNB 610.The controller/processor 659 is also responsible for HARQ operations,retransmission of lost packets, and signaling to the eNB 610.

Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 658 from a referencesignal or feedback transmitted by the eNB 610 may be used by the TXprocessor 668 to select the appropriate coding and modulation schemes,and to facilitate spatial processing. The spatial streams generated bythe TX processor 668 are provided to different antenna 652 via separatetransmitters 654TX. Each transmitter 654TX modulates an RF carrier witha respective spatial stream for transmission.

The UL transmission is processed at the eNB 610 in a manner similar tothat described in connection with the receiver function at the UE 650.Each receiver 618RX receives a signal through its respective antenna620. Each receiver 618RX recovers information modulated onto an RFcarrier and provides the information to a RX processor 670. The RXprocessor 670 may implement the L1 layer.

The controller/processor 675 implements the L2 layer. Thecontroller/processor 675 can be associated with a memory 676 that storesprogram codes and data. The memory 676 may be referred to as acomputer-readable medium. In the UL, the control/processor 675 providesdemultiplexing between transport and logical channels, packetreassembly, deciphering, header decompression, control signal processingto recover upper layer packets from the UE 650. Upper layer packets fromthe controller/processor 675 may be provided to the core network. Thecontroller/processor 675 is also responsible for error detection usingan ACK and/or NACK protocol to support HARQ operations.

FIG. 7 is a diagram 700 illustrating a cell range expansion (CRE) regionin a heterogeneous network. A lower power class eNB such as the pico 710b may have a CRE region 703 that extends beyond the region 702. Thelower power class eNB is not limited to pico eNB, but may also be afemto eNB, relay, a remote radio head (RRH), etc. Pico 710 b and themacro eNB 710 a may employ enhanced inter-cell interference coordinationtechniques, UE 720 may employ interference cancellation. In enhancedinter-cell interference coordination, the pico 710 b receivesinformation from the macro eNB 710 a regarding an interference conditionof the UE 720. The information allows the pico 710 b to serve the UE 720in the range expanded cellular region 703 and to accept a handoff of theUE 720 from the macro eNB 710 a as the UE 720 enters the range expandedcellular region 703.

FIG. 8 is a diagram 800 for illustrating an exemplary method. As shownin FIG. 8, the UE 802 receives control information 808 from a first cell804. The control information 808 includes information for cancelinginterference due to a second cell signal 814 originating from a secondcell 806. The first cell 804 may be a serving cell and the second cell806 may be a neighboring cell. The UE 802 may receive a signal 812/814that includes a first cell signal 812 and the second cell signal 814,wherein the first cell signal 812 originates from the first cell 804.Using blind detection in conjunction with the received controlinformation 808, the UE 802 may cancel interference from the receivedsignal 812/814 due to the second cell signal 814.

The second cell signal 814 may be any one of a number of physicalchannels and/or signals, such as a primary synchronization signal (PSS),a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), a physical broadcast channel(PBCH), a CRS, a demodulation reference signal (DRS), a channel stateinformation reference signal (CSI-RS), a physical control formatindicator channel (PCFICH), a physical hybrid automatic repeat requestindicator channel (PHICH), a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH),a PDSCH, and the like. For simplicity in the discussion infra, it isassumed that the control information 808 is received in a PDCCH, thefirst cell signal 812 is a PDSCH, the second cell signal 814 is a PDSCH,and the signal 810, which schedules the PDSCH, is a PDCCH. The PDCCH 810includes almost all of the information (does not include traffic topilot ratio (TPR)) needed to cancel interference due to the second cellsignal 814 from the signal 812/814. However, decoding the PDCCH 810 maynot be feasible for the UE 802, and therefore the PDCCH 808 may providesome or all of the information the UE 802 needs to cancel theinterference due to the second cell signal 814 from the signal 812/814.

The UE 802 may be configured to perform codeword-level interferencecancelation (CWIC) and/or symbol level interference cancelation (SLIC).In CWIC, the UE 802 cancels interference due to the second cell signal814 from the signal 812/814 by decoding the interfering data in thesecond cell signal 814 and canceling the decoded data from the signal812/814. In SLIC, the UE 802 cancels interference due to the second cellsignal 814 from the signal 812/814 by detecting modulation symbols inthe second cell signal 814 and canceling the detected modulation symbolsfrom the signal 812/814. For CWIC, the UE 802 needs to know a spatialscheme, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a resource block (RB)allocation, a redundancy version (RV), and the TPR associated with thesecond cell signal 814. For SLIC, the UE 802 needs to know the spatialscheme, the modulation order, the RB allocation, and the TPR associatedwith the second cell signal 814.

For non-unicast PDSCH transmissions, some parameters are fixed or knownto the UE 802. For example, for non-unicast PDSCH transmission, themodulation order is QPSK, the spatial scheme is space frequency blockcode (SFBC) for 2Tx and SFBC-FSTD (frequency switched transmitdiversity) for 4Tx, and the RV is known for system information block 1(SIB1) PDSCH. Some of the parameters may be estimated. For example, theUE 802 may be able to estimate any one of the modulation order, thespatial scheme, the RB allocation (e.g., if there is only oneinterferer), and the TPR, but normally with some performance loss in theinterference cancelation. Other parameters, such as the MCS and RV maybe more difficult to estimate.

If the UE 802 performs CWIC, the control information 808 may include atleast one of the spatial scheme, the MCS, the RB allocation, the RV, andthe TPR associated with the second cell signal 814. The UE 802 mayestimate the parameters needed for CWIC that are not included in thecontrol information 808. If the UE 802 performs SLIC, the controlinformation 808 may include at least one of the spatial scheme, themodulation order, the RB allocation, and the TPR associated with thesecond cell signal 814. The UE 802 may estimate the parameters neededfor SLIC that are not included in the control information 808. Foreither CWIC or SLIC, the control information may further include a cellidentifier of the second cell 806.

As described herein, aspects of the disclosure are related toidentifying whether an apparatus (e.g., base station, access point,etc.) transmits using a CRS based transmission scheme or a UE-RS basedtransmission scheme. Such detection may be necessary for interferencecancellation (IC) of a neighboring cell since a UE may not know whichtransmission scheme is used by the neighboring cell. For instance, theUE may know the transmission scheme of the serving cell, but the UE maynot know the transmission scheme of a neighboring non-serving cell. Assuch, aspects of the disclosure provide for a blind detection algorithmto identify or determine a transmission mode or transmission scheme of aneighboring cell in order to apply interference cancellation (IC) to aninterfering signal received from the neighboring cell. In animplementation, interference cancellation (IC) may include PDSCH IC. Inother implementations, the CRS versus UE-RS detection scheme may be usedin other scenarios not involving PDSCH IC or not involving multiplecells. Further, the detection techniques described herein may be basedon a received signal. However, in reference to PDSCH IC, it should benoted that the detection techniques described herein may be based on thereceived signal minus an estimated serving cell signal. For instance,the serving cell signal may be cancelled, and the remaining signal isthe received signal minus the serving cell signal.

FIG. 9 is a diagram 900 illustrating a method of cancelling interferenceover wireless communications. The method may be performed by a UEcapable of interference cancellation (IC) including PDSCH IC.

At 902, the UE receives a signal. The received signal includes a firstcell signal from a first cell and a second cell signal from a secondcell. In an implementation, the first cell may be a low power cell, andthe second cell may be a high power cell. The first cell may be aserving cell, and the second cell may be a non-serving cell. Forexample, the first cell may be a pico cell, femto cell, relay, remoteradio head, etc. The received signal may include a PDSCH from the firstcell, and a PDSCH from the second cell.

At 903, the UE may process the received signal prior to detecting atransmission scheme of the signal. For example, a minimum mean squareerror (MMSE) operation may be performed on the received signal. Byperforming such process, UE detection performance may be enhanced.However, processing the received signal increases system complexity. Assuch, when reduced system complexity is desired, the UE will not processthe received signal prior to detecting the transmission scheme of thesignal.

At 904, the UE detects a transmission scheme of the second cell signal.Techniques for detecting the transmission scheme are based on thereceived signal. The detection techniques provide for a blind detectionalgorithm, as described in greater detail herein, to detect atransmission scheme of a neighboring cell (e.g., the second cell). Asdescribed herein, interference cancellation may be applied to aninterfering signal received from the neighboring cell. In reference toPDSCH, the detection techniques may be based on the received signalminus an estimated serving cell signal. For instance, the serving cellsignal may be cancelled, and the remaining signal is the received signalminus the serving cell signal.

At 906, the UE determines whether the transmission scheme is a CRS basedtransmission scheme or a UE-RS based transmission scheme. The UEdetermines whether an apparatus (e.g., base station, access point, etc.)transmits using a CRS based transmission scheme or a UE-RS basedtransmission scheme using various techniques as provided in FIGS. 10-13,for example.

At 908, the UE cancels interference from the received signal due to thesecond cell signal based, at least in part, on the determinedtransmission scheme. The UE uses detection and determination techniquesfor PDSCH IC of a neighboring cell since the UE may not know thetransmission scheme used by the neighboring cell. Although the UE mayknow the transmission scheme of the serving cell, the UE may not knowthe transmission scheme of a neighboring non-serving cell. Accordingly,the UE utilizes blind detection to determine a transmission mode schemeof a neighboring cell in order to apply PDSCH IC to an interferingsignal received from the neighboring cell.

FIG. 9A is a diagram 950 illustrating a method of cancellinginterference over wireless communications. As with FIG. 9, the methodmay be performed by a UE capable of interference cancellation (IC)including PDSCH IC.

At 952, the UE receives a signal. The received signal includes a firstcell signal from a first cell and a second cell signal from a secondcell. In an implementation, the first cell may be a low power cell, andthe second cell may be a high power cell. The first cell may be aserving cell, and the second cell may be a non-serving cell. Forexample, the first cell may be a pico cell, femto cell, relay, remoteradio head, etc. The received signal may include a PDSCH from the firstcell, and a PDSCH from the second cell.

At 953, the UE may process the received signal prior to detecting atransmission scheme of the signal. For example, a minimum mean squareerror (MMSE) operation may be performed on the received signal. Byperforming such process, UE detection performance may be enhanced.However, processing the received signal increases system complexity. Assuch, when reduced system complexity is desired, the UE will not processthe received signal prior to detecting the transmission scheme of thesignal.

At 954, the UE detects a transmission scheme of the second cell signal.Techniques for detecting the transmission scheme are based on thereceived signal. The detection techniques provide for a blind detectionalgorithm, to detect a transmission scheme of a neighboring cell (e.g.,the second cell). Interference cancellation may be applied to aninterfering signal received from the neighboring cell.

At 955, the UE calculates a metric of the received signal. The metricmay be calculated based on the received signal on UE-RS tone locations(e.g., see FIG. 3). Examples of the metric include a power metric and anSNR metric. In various implementations, the metric may be a function ofthe received signal on UE-RS tones, allowed spreading and scramblingsequences, and/or determined rank or possible ranks. The rank may bedetermined prior to calculating the metric, such as using data tones ofthe received signal. The metric may consider a multiple rank hypothesis.Also, the metric may be different in systems that support and do notsupport UE-RS port 5.

At 956, the UE determines whether the transmission scheme is a CRS basedtransmission scheme or a UE-RS based transmission scheme based on thecalculated metric. Specifically, the UE determines whether an apparatus(e.g., base station, access point, etc.) transmits using a CRS basedtransmission scheme or a UE-RS based transmission scheme based on thecalculated metric.

At 958, the UE cancels interference from the received signal due to thesecond cell signal based, at least in part, on the determinedtransmission scheme. Hence, the UE utilizes blind detection to determinea transmission mode scheme of a neighboring cell in order to applyinterference cancellation (including PDSCH IC) to an interfering signalreceived from the neighboring cell.

FIG. 10 is a diagram 1000 illustrating a method of cancellinginterference over wireless communications using a power metric. Themethod includes using one or more parameters to determine whether thetransmission scheme is a CRS based transmission scheme or a UE-RS basedtransmission scheme. The method may be performed by a UE or other devicereceiving transmissions from the eNB.

At 1002, the device receives a signal. The received signal includes afirst cell signal from a first cell and a second cell signal from asecond cell. In an implementation, the first cell may be a low powercell, and the second cell may be a high power cell. The first cell maybe a serving cell, and the second cell may be a non-serving cell. Forexample, the first cell may be a pico cell, femto cell, relay, remoteradio head, etc. The received signal may include a PDSCH from the firstcell, and a PDSCH from the second cell.

At 1004, the device detects a transmission scheme of the second cellsignal. At 1020, the device determines whether to use a rank of thereceived signal for determining the transmission scheme. If not, thedevice may proceed to step 1022. Otherwise, the device proceeds to step1040.

At 1022, the device calculates a power metric of the received signal. At1024, the device determines whether to use a signal-to-noise (SNR)metric for determining the transmission scheme. If not, the device mayproceed to step 1026. Otherwise, the device proceeds to step 1030.

At 1026, the device determines the transmission scheme based on athreshold related to the power metric. For example, if the power metricis greater than a threshold δ, then the device determines that thetransmission scheme is the UE-RS based transmission scheme. In anotherexample, if the power metric is less than or equal to the threshold δ,then the device determines that the transmission scheme is the CRS basedtransmission scheme.

At 1030, the device calculates the SNR metric using the calculated powermetric. At 1032, the device determines the transmission scheme based ona threshold related to the SNR metric. For example, if the SNR metric isgreater than a threshold δ, then the device determines that thetransmission scheme is the UE-RS based transmission scheme. In anotherexample, if the SNR metric is less than or equal to the threshold δ,then the device determines that the transmission scheme is the CRS basedtransmission scheme.

At 1040, the device detects a rank associated with the received signalby measuring a covariance on a data portion of the received signal. At1042, the device calculates a power metric of the received signal usingthe rank (e.g., information related to the detected rank of the receivedsignal).

At 1044, the device determines whether to use SNR of the calculatedpower metric for determining the transmission scheme. If not, the devicemay proceed to step 1046. Otherwise, the device proceeds to step 1050.

At 1046, the device determines the transmission scheme based on athreshold. For example, if the power metric is greater than a thresholdδ, then the device determines that the transmission scheme is the UE-RSbased transmission scheme. In another example, if the power metric isless than or equal to the threshold δ, then the device determines thatthe transmission scheme is the CRS based transmission scheme.

At 1050, the device calculates the SNR metric using the calculated powermetric that was calculated using the rank. At 1052, the devicedetermines the transmission scheme based on a threshold related to theSNR metric. For example, if the SNR metric is greater than a thresholdδ, then the device determines that the transmission scheme is the UE-RSbased transmission scheme. In another example, if the SNR metric is lessthan or equal to the threshold δ, then the device determines that thetransmission scheme is the CRS based transmission scheme.

At 1008, after determining the transmission scheme, the device maycancel interference from the received signal due to the second cellsignal based, at least in part, on the determined transmission scheme.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, transmission schemedetection involves measuring a covariance of the received signal byusing a y=12×2 matrix of the received signal. Let y_(i) for i=0, 1 bethe received signal for antenna 0 and 1, and therefore, y=[y₀ y₁]. TheUE-RS sequence is 12×1, where each element is unit norm. Two sets ofsequences for two scrambling sequences may be represented as:SCID=0: S1a,S2a;  (1)andSCID=1: S1b,S2b,  (2)

wherein 1 and 2 correspond to two code division multiplexed (CDM) codesthat are orthogonally multiplexed.

If rank information is not used, an algorithm used for calculating thepower metric is as shown below:Power metric=max((|S1a*y _(i)|² +|S2a*y _(i)|² ,|S1b*y _(i)|² +|S2b*y_(i)|²)/∥y _(i)∥².  (3)

If rank information is used, then rank detection is applied, forexample, by measuring a covariance on a data portion of the receivedsignal.

If Rank=1 is detected, then:Power metric=max((|S1a*y _(i)|² ,|S2a*y _(i)|² ,|S1b*y _(i) |,|S2b*y_(i)|¹)/∥y _(i)∥².  (4)

If Rank=2 is detected, then:Power metric=max((S1a*y _(i)|² +|S2a*y _(i)|² ,|S1b*y _(i)|² +|S2b*y_(i)|²)/∥y _(i)∥².  (5)

After calculating the power metric, a decision rule is applied todetermine the transmission scheme, wherein:Decision rule: If power metric>threshold, then UE-RS else CRS.  (6)

In the equations (3)-(5) above, “*” refers to an inner product betweentwo vectors. Moreover, ∥y_(i)∥² is defined as a sum of norm of allelements in y_(i). For time division duplex (TDD), another power metricmay be calculated for UE-RS port 5 in the above max functions.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, other metrics may beconsidered, such as an SNR metric, to determine the transmission schemeof the received signal.

If rank information is not used, an algorithm used for calculating thepower metric and the SNR metric without rank information is as shownbelow:Power_(i)=max(|S1a*y _(i)|² +|S2a*y _(i)|² ,|S1b*y _(i)|² +|S2b*y_(i)|²)/12;  (7)andSNR metric=sum over i(Power_(i)/(∥y _(i)∥²−Power)).  (8)

If rank information is used, then rank detection is applied, forexample, by measuring a covariance on a data portion of the receivedsignal.

If Rank=1 is detected, then:Power_(i)=max(|S1a*y _(i)|² ,|S2a*y _(i)|² ,|S1b*y _(i)|² ,|S2b*y_(i)|²)/12;  (9)andSNR metric=sum over i(Power_(i)/(∥y _(i)∥²−Power)).  (10)

If Rank=2 is detected, then:Power_(i)=max(|S1a*y _(i)|² +|S2a*y _(i)|² ,|S1b*y _(i)|² +|S2b*y_(i)|²)/12;  (11)andSNR metric=sum over i(Power_(i)/(∥y _(i)∥²−Power)).  (12)

In the equations (7)-(12) above, “i” represents a receive antenna index.

After calculating the power metric and the SNR metric, a decision ruleis applied to determine the transmission scheme, wherein:Decision rule: If SNR metric>threshold, then UE-RS else CRS.  (13)

It may be assumed that only the DC component includes most of the signalpower. However, projections may be taken along other directions.

For instance,Power_(i)=max(sum_(k) |a _(k) *y _(i)|²,sum_(k) |b _(k) *y_(i)|²)/12;  (14)andSNR metric=sum over i(Power_(i)/(∥y _(i)∥²−Power)).  (15)

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, approaches to detectingthe CRS/UE-RS transmission schemes may be based on UE-RS power in amanner as previously described. For TDD, UE-RS port 5 may also beconsidered.

FIG. 11 is a diagram 1100 illustrating a method of cancellinginterference over wireless communications. The method includes using oneor more parameters to determine whether the transmission scheme is a CRSbased transmission scheme or a UE-RS based transmission scheme. Themethod may be performed by a UE or other device receiving transmissionsfrom the eNB.

At 1102, the device receives a signal, wherein the received signalincludes a first cell signal from a first cell and a second cell signalfrom a second cell. In an implementation, the first cell may be a lowpower cell, and the second cell may be a high power cell. The first cellmay be a serving cell, and the second cell may be a non-serving cell.For example, the first cell may be a pico cell, femto cell, relay,remote radio head, etc. The received signal may include a PDSCH from thefirst cell, and a PDSCH from the second cell.

At 1104, the device detects a transmission scheme of the second cellsignal. At 1120, the device determines whether to use a rank of thereceived signal for determining the transmission scheme. If so, thedevice may proceed to step 1122. Otherwise, the device proceeds to step1124. It should be appreciated that step 1120 is optional, andaccordingly, the device may execute A only, B only, or execute A and Binline based on their results.

At 1122, the device proceeds to perform the steps shown in FIG. 12. At1124, the device proceeds to perform the steps shown in FIG. 13. Uponreturn from the method 1200 of FIG. 12, or the method 1300 of FIG. 13,at 1108, the device cancels interference from the received signal due tothe second cell signal based, at least in part, on the determinedtransmission scheme.

FIG. 12 is a diagram 1200 illustrating a method of determining thetransmission scheme. The method may be performed by a UE or other devicereceiving transmissions from the eNB.

At 1202, the device detects tones of the received signal. At 1204, thedevice detects a rank observed on data tones of the received signal. At1206, the device detects a rank observed on UE-RS tones of the receivedsignal. At 1208, the device determines a number of CRS ports.

In an implementation, after detecting the rank observed on the datatones and after determining the number of CRS ports, at 1210, the devicedetermines that the transmission scheme is the UE-RS based transmissionscheme if the rank observed on the data tones is larger than the numberof CRS ports.

In another implementation, after detecting the rank observed on the datatones and after determining the number of CRS ports, at 1212, the devicedetermines that the transmission scheme is the UE-RS based transmissionscheme if the rank observed on the data tones does not exceed the numberof CRS ports, and no CRS precoding leads to the observed covariancematrix on the data tones.

In another implementation, after detecting the rank observed on the datatones and after detecting the rank observed on the UE-RS tones, at 1214,the device determines that the transmission scheme is the CRS basedtransmission scheme if the rank observed on the data tones is largerthan 2, and the rank observed on the UE-RS tones is not equal to therank observed on the data tones.

After determining the transmission scheme, the method of FIG. 12 returns1220 to the method of FIG. 11 to proceed at 1108.

In an aspect of the disclosure, referring to FIG. 12, determining thetransmission scheme may be based on the rank observed on the data tonesof the received signal.

For instance,

-   -   if Rank># CRS, the transmission scheme is UE-RS based;    -   if Rank≦# CRS, check if any CRS precoding leads to the same Ryy        (i.e., a covariance matrix on data tones), if not, the        transmission scheme is UE-RS based; and    -   if Rank=3 or 4, check if rank on the UE-RS tones is less than        the rank on the data tones. Since UE-RS for Rank>2 is split into        two different CDM groups, the rank on the UE-RS tones is less        than the rank on the data tones. For CRS, the rank on the UE-RS        tones and the data tones may be the same.

FIG. 13 is a diagram 1300 illustrating alternative methods fordetermining the transmission scheme. It should be appreciated that thefollowing methods may be in any order, and each method may be selectedindependent of the other.

Referring to FIG. 13, the method may include detecting whether thesignal is received in an MBSFN subframe. The method may be performed bya UE or other device receiving transmissions from the eNB.

At 1304, the UE may detect the MSFBN subframe. At 1306, the UE maydetermine that the transmission scheme is the UE-RS based transmissionscheme when the signal is detected as being received in an MBSFNsubframe. After determining the transmission scheme, the method of FIG.13 returns 1360 to the method of FIG. 11 to proceed at 1108.

In an aspect of the disclosure, referring to FIG. 13, determining thetransmission scheme may be based on MBSFN configuration of neighboringcells. For instance, if a neighboring cell is detected as MBSFN, thenthe neighboring cell may only transmit data using UE-RS on thosesubframes. However, the UE may not know the MBSFN configuration of theneighboring cell, and the UE may then have to have some MBSFN detectionscheme to achieve MBSFN detection.

Referring to FIG. 13, the method may include determining whether todetect a transmit diversity (TxD) scheme of the received signal. At1312, the UE may detect the TxD scheme of the received signal anddetecting a rate-matching pattern (RMP) of the received signal. At 1314,the UE may determine that the transmission scheme is the UE-RS basedtransmission scheme based on an appearance of the TxD scheme and theRMP. After determining the transmission scheme, the method of FIG. 13returns 1360 to the method of FIG. 11 to proceed at 1108.

In an aspect of the disclosure, referring to FIG. 13, if the UE knows ordetects that a subframe corresponds to a subframe that has CSI-RS ormuting, the UE may be able to detect that an SFBC/SFBC-FSTD scheme isused. There are certain configurations of CSI-RS and muting patterns forwhich the eNB has to rate match around the symbols containing CSI-RSand/or mute when the eNB uses transmit diversity schemes (TxD) such asSFBC/SFBC-FSTD. Here, SFBC refers to space frequency block code, andFSTD refers to frequency shift time diversity. These are not skipped forother CRS based transmissions and UE-RS based transmissions.Accordingly, the UE may measure the PDSCH power on different resourceelements (REs) and determine if some REs were used for data transmissionor not. If the UE discovers that the REs corresponding to the TxD schemewere not used, then the UE may attribute this to use of the TxD scheme.

Referring to FIG. 13, the method may include determining whether todetect a modulation order (MO) of the received signal. At 1322, the UEmay detect the modulation order on UE-RS tones of the received signal.At 1324, the UE may determine that the transmission scheme is the CRSbased transmission scheme if the MO is not QPSK. After determining thetransmission scheme, the method of FIG. 13 returns 1360 to the method ofFIG. 11 to proceed at 1108.

Referring to FIG. 13, the method may include determining whether todetect a data signal power (DSP) of the received signal. At 1332, the UEmay detect the data symbol power (DSP) on UE-RS tones of the receivedsignal. At 1334, the UE may determine that the transmission scheme isthe CRS based transmission scheme if data symbol power (DSP) variesacross the UE-RS tones of the received signal. After determining thetransmission scheme, the method of FIG. 13 returns 1360 to the method ofFIG. 11 to proceed at 1108.

In an aspect of the disclosure, referring to FIG. 13, determining thetransmission scheme may be based on modulation order (MO) on the UE-RStones of the received signal. For instance, if it is determined that themodulation order (MO) on UE-RS tones is not QPSK, or the data symbolpower (DSP) varies across the UE-RS tones indicating a data transmissionwhich does not have norm of 1 on all tones, it is likely to be CRS,since the UE-RS pilots are norm 1.

Referring to FIG. 13, the method may include determining whether todetect a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the receivedsignal. At 1342, the UE may decode the PDCCH of the second cell. At1344, the UE may determine the transmission scheme based on the decodedPDCCH of the second cell. After determining the transmission scheme, themethod of FIG. 13 returns 1360 to the method of FIG. 11 to proceed at1108.

In an aspect of the disclosure, referring to FIG. 13, determining thetransmission scheme may be based on decoding a neighbor cell PDCCH.Referring to FIG. 13, at 1350, the UE may detect data tones of thereceived signal. At 1352, the UE may estimate covariance on the datatones of the received signal. At 1354, the UE may determine that thetransmission scheme is the UE-RS based transmission scheme if theestimated covariance does not correspond to at least one of a CRS basedchannel codebook, a CRS based channel and transmit diversity scheme, anda CRS based channel and cyclic delay diversity scheme. After determiningthe transmission scheme, the method of FIG. 13 returns 1360 to themethod of FIG. 11 to proceed at 1108.

In an aspect of the disclosure, referring to FIG. 13, determining thetransmission scheme may be based on Precoding/Tx Scheme detection. Forinstance, the Ryy (i.e., covariance matrix) on the data tones may beestimated, and if the Ryy does not correspond to at least one of a CRSbased channel allowed codebook, a CRS based channel and TxD scheme, anda CRS based channel and LD-CDD scheme, then the UE determines that thetransmission scheme is UE-RS based.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual data flow diagram 1400 illustrating the dataflow between different modules/means/components in an exemplaryapparatus 100. The apparatus 100 includes a receiving module 1402 thatreceives an input signal 1410 from the first and second cells. The inputsignal 1410 may include a first cell signal from a first cell and asecond cell signal from a second cell. In an implementation, the firstcell may be a low power cell, and the second cell may be a high powercell. The first cell may be a serving cell, and the second cell may be anon-serving cell. For example, the first cell may be a pico cell, femtocell, relay, remote radio head, etc. The input signal may include aPDSCH from the first cell, and a PDSCH from the second cell. Thereceiving module 1402 also provides a signal 1432 related to thereceived signal.

The apparatus 100 includes a transmission scheme detection module 1404that receives the signal 1432 and detects a transmission scheme of thesecond cell signal. The transmission scheme detection module 1404 alsoprovides a signal 1434 related to the detected transmission scheme ofthe received signal.

The apparatus 100 includes a transmission scheme determination module1406 that receives the signal 1434 and determines whether thetransmission scheme is a CRS based transmission scheme or a UE-RS basedtransmission scheme. The transmission scheme determination module 1406may also calculate a metric based on the received signal 1434 anddetermine whether the transmission scheme is a CRS based transmissionscheme or a UE-RS based transmission scheme according to the calculatedmetric. The transmission scheme determination module 1406 also providesa signal 1436 related to the determined transmission scheme of thereceived signal.

The apparatus 100 includes an interference cancellation module 1408 thatreceives the signal 1436 and cancels interference from the receivedsignal due to the second cell signal based, at least in part, on thedetermined transmission scheme. The interference cancellation module1408 also provides an output signal 1420 related to the cancelledinterference from the received signal.

The apparatus may include additional modules that perform each of thesteps of the algorithms in the aforementioned flow charts of FIGS.10-13. As such, each step in the aforementioned flow charts of FIGS.10-13 may be performed by a module, and the apparatus may include one ormore of those modules. The modules may be one or more hardwarecomponents specifically configured to carry out the statedprocesses/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to performthe stated processes/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable mediumfor implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an apparatus 100′ employing a processing system 1514.The processing system 1514 may be implemented with a bus architecture,represented generally by the bus 1524. The bus 1524 may include anynumber of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specificapplication of the processing system 1514 and the overall designconstraints. The bus 1524 links together various circuits including oneor more processors and/or hardware modules, represented by the processor1504, the modules 1402, 1404, 1406, 1408, and the computer-readablemedium 1506. The bus 1524 may also link various other circuits such astiming sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power managementcircuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore, will not bedescribed any further.

The apparatus includes a processing system 1514 coupled to a transceiver1510. The transceiver 1510 is coupled to one or more antennas 1520. Thetransceiver 1510 provides a means for communicating with various otherapparatus over a transmission medium. The processing system 1514includes a processor 1504 coupled to a computer-readable medium 1506.The processor 1504 is responsible for general processing, including theexecution of software stored on the computer-readable medium 1506. Thesoftware, when executed by the processor 1504, causes the processingsystem 1514 to perform the various functions described supra for anyparticular apparatus. The computer-readable medium 1506 may also be usedfor storing data that is manipulated by the processor 1504 whenexecuting software. The processing system further includes modules 1402,1404, 1406, and 1408. The modules may be software modules running in theprocessor 1504, resident/stored in the computer readable medium 1506,one or more hardware modules coupled to the processor 1504, or somecombination thereof. In an implementation, the processing system 1514may be a component of user equipment (UE) and may include the memory 660and/or at least one of the TX processor 668, the RX processor 656, andthe controller/processor 659.

In one configuration, the apparatus 100/100′ for wireless communicationincludes means for receiving a signal, wherein the received signalincludes a first cell signal from a first cell and a second cell signalfrom a second cell, means for detecting a transmission scheme of thesecond cell signal, means for determining whether the transmissionscheme comprises a CRS based transmission scheme or a UE-RS basedtransmission scheme, and means for cancelling interference from thereceived signal due to the second cell signal based, at least in part,on the determined transmission scheme.

The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementionedmodules of the apparatus 100 and/or the processing system 1514 of theapparatus 100′ configured to perform the functions recited by theaforementioned means. As described supra, the processing system 1514 mayinclude the TX Processor 668, the RX Processor 656, and thecontroller/processor 659. As such, in one configuration, theaforementioned means may be the TX Processor 668, the RX Processor 656,and the controller/processor 659 configured to perform the functionsrecited by the aforementioned means.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in theprocesses disclosed is an illustration of exemplary approaches. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the processes may be rearranged. Further, somesteps may be combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims presentelements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to belimited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. All structural andfunctional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects describedthroughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known tothose of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein byreference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover,nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in theclaims. No claim element is to be construed as a means plus functionunless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:receiving a signal, the signal including at least a first cell signalfrom a first cell; determining a transmission scheme associated with thereceived signal, the determined transmission scheme being one of acommon reference signal (CRS) based transmission scheme or a userequipment reference signal (UE-RS) based transmission scheme, whereinthe determining the transmission scheme comprises determining that thetransmission scheme includes the UE-RS based transmission scheme if apower metric is greater than a threshold, and determining that thetransmission scheme includes the CRS based transmission scheme if thepower metric is less than or equal to the threshold, and processing thereceived signal based, at least in part, on the determined transmissionscheme.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the processing the receivedsignal comprises canceling interference from the received signal due toa second cell signal from a second cell based, at least in part, on thedetermined transmission scheme.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising calculating the power metric of the received signal.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising detecting a rank associated withthe received signal by at least measuring a covariance on a data portionof the received signal, the power metric being based at least on therank.
 5. A method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving asignal, the signal including at least a first cell signal from a firstcell; deciding whether to use a rank associated with the received signalto determine a transmission scheme associated with the received signal;determining the transmission scheme; and processing the received signalbased, at least in part, on the determined transmission scheme, whereinwhen the rank is used to determine the transmission scheme, the methodfurther comprises: detecting one or more ranks associated with thereceived signal; and determining a number of common reference signal(CRS) ports, wherein the transmission scheme is determined to include aCRS based transmission scheme or a user equipment reference signal(UE-RS) based transmission scheme based, at least in part, on the one ormore ranks associated with the received signal and the number of CRSports.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the processing the receivedsignal comprises canceling interference from the received signal due toa second cell signal from a second cell based, at least in part, on thedetermined transmission scheme.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein theone or more ranks associated with the received signal comprises a rankobserved on data tones of the received signal and a rank observed onUE-RS tones of the received signal, and wherein the determining thetransmission scheme comprises: determining that the transmission schemeincludes the UE-RS based transmission scheme if the rank observed on thedata tones is larger than the number of the CRS ports, determining thatthe transmission scheme includes the UE-RS based transmission scheme ifthe rank observed on the data tones does not exceed the number of theCRS ports, and no CRS precoding leads to an observed covariance matrixon the data tones, and determining that the transmission scheme includesthe CRS based transmission scheme if the rank observed on the data tonesis larger than 2 and the rank observed on the UE-RS tones is not equalto the rank observed on the data tones.
 8. The method of claim 5,wherein when the rank is not used to determine the transmission scheme,the method further comprises detecting at least one of: whether thesignal is received in a multimedia broadcast over a single frequencynetwork (MBSFN) subframe, a transmit diversity scheme of the receivedsignal, a modulation order on UE-RS tones of the received signal, a datasymbol power on UE-RS tones of the received signal, data tones of thereceived signal, or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of asecond cell.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein when the signal isdetected as being received in the MBSFN subframe, the determining thetransmission scheme includes identifying the transmission scheme as theUE-RS based transmission scheme.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein whenthe transmit diversity scheme of the received signal is detected, themethod further comprises detecting a rate-matching pattern of thereceived signal; and the determining the transmission scheme includesidentifying that the transmission scheme is the UE-RS based transmissionscheme based on an appearance of the transmit diversity scheme and therate-matching pattern.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein when themodulation order on UE-RS tones of the received signal is detected, thedetermining the transmission scheme includes identifying that thetransmission scheme is the CRS based transmission scheme if themodulation order is not quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK).
 12. Themethod of claim 8, wherein when the data symbol power on UE-RS tones ofthe received signal is detected, the determining the transmission schemeincludes identifying that the transmission scheme is the CRS basedtransmission scheme if the data symbol power varies across the UE-RStones.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein when the data tones of thereceived signal are detected, the method further comprises estimatingcovariance on the data tones of the received signal; and the determiningthe transmission scheme includes identifying that the transmissionscheme is the UE-RS based transmission scheme if the estimatedcovariance does not correspond to at least one of a CRS based channelcodebook, a CRS based channel and transmit diversity scheme, or a CRSbased channel and cyclic delay diversity scheme.
 14. The method of claim8, wherein when the PDCCH of the second cell is detected, the methodfurther comprises decoding the PDCCH of the second cell; and thedetermining the transmission scheme includes identifying thetransmission scheme based on the decoded PDCCH of the second cell. 15.An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory; and atleast one processor coupled to the memory and configured to: receive asignal, the signal including at least a first cell signal from a firstcell, determine a transmission scheme associated with the receivedsignal, the determined transmission scheme being one of a commonreference signal (CRS) based transmission scheme or a user equipmentreference signal (UE-RS) based transmission scheme, wherein the at leastone processor is configured to determine the transmission scheme bydetermining that the transmission scheme includes the UE-RS basedtransmission scheme if a power metric is greater than a threshold, anddetermining that the transmission scheme includes the CRS basedtransmission scheme if the power metric is less than or equal to thethreshold, and process the received signal based, at least in part, onthe determined transmission scheme.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: calculatinga power metric of the received signal.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to detect arank associated with the received signal by at least measuring acovariance on a data portion of the received signal, the power metricbeing based at least in part on the rank.
 18. An apparatus for wirelesscommunication, comprising: a memory; and at least one processor coupledto the memory and configured to: receive a signal, the signal includingat least a first cell signal from a first cell, decide whether to use arank associated with the received signal to determine a transmissionscheme associated with the received signal, determine the transmissionscheme, and process the received signal based, at least in part, on thedetermined transmission scheme, wherein when the rank is used todetermine the transmission scheme, the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to: detect one or more ranks associated with the receivedsignal, and determine a number of common reference signal (CRS) ports,wherein the transmission scheme is determined to include a CRS basedtransmission scheme or a user equipment reference signal (UE-RS) basedtransmission scheme based, at least in part, on the one or more ranksassociated with the received signal and the number of CRS ports.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more ranks associated with thereceived signal comprises a rank observed on data tones of the receivedsignal and a rank observed on UE-RS tones of the received signal, andwherein the at least one processor is configured to determine thetransmission scheme by: determining that the transmission schemeincludes the UE-RS based transmission scheme if the rank observed on thedata tones is larger than the number of the CRS ports, determining thatthe transmission scheme includes the UE-RS based transmission scheme ifthe rank observed on the data tones does not exceed the number of theCRS ports, and no CRS precoding leads to an observed covariance matrixon the data tones, and determining that the transmission scheme includesthe CRS based transmission scheme if the rank observed on the data tonesis larger than 2 and the rank observed on the UE-RS tones is not equalto the rank observed on the data tones.
 20. The apparatus of claim 18,wherein when the rank is not used to determine the transmission scheme,the at least one processor is further configured to detect at least oneof: whether the signal is received in a multimedia broadcast over asingle frequency network (MBSFN) subframe, a transmit diversity schemeof the received signal, a modulation order on UE-RS tones of thereceived signal, a data symbol power on UE-RS tones of the receivedsignal, data tones of the received signal, or a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) of a second cell.
 21. The apparatus of claim 20,wherein when the signal is detected as being received in the MBSFNsubframe, the at least one processor is configured to determine thetransmission scheme by identifying the transmission scheme as the UE-RSbased transmission scheme.
 22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein whenthe transmit diversity scheme of the received signal is detected, the atleast one processor is further configured to detect a rate-matchingpattern of the received signal; and the at least one processor isconfigured to determine the transmission scheme by identifying that thetransmission scheme is the UE-RS based transmission scheme based on anappearance of the transmit diversity scheme and the rate-matchingpattern.
 23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein when the modulationorder on UE-RS tones of the received signal is detected, the at leastone processor is configured to determine the transmission scheme byidentifying that the transmission scheme is the CRS based transmissionscheme if the modulation order is not quadrature phase shift keying(QPSK).
 24. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein when the data symbolpower on UE-RS tones of the received signal is detected, the at leastone processor is configured to determine the transmission scheme byidentifying that the transmission scheme is the CRS based transmissionscheme if the data symbol power varies across the UE-RS tones.
 25. Theapparatus of claim 20, wherein when the data tones of the receivedsignal are detected, the at least one processor is further configured toestimate covariance on the data tones of the received signal; and the atleast one processor is configured to determine the transmission schemeby identifying that the transmission scheme is the UE-RS basedtransmission scheme if the estimated covariance does not correspond toat least one of a CRS based channel codebook, a CRS based channel andtransmit diversity scheme, or a CRS based channel and cyclic delaydiversity scheme.
 26. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein when the PDCCHof the second cell is detected, the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to decode the PDCCH of the second cell; and the at least oneprocessor is configured to determine the transmission scheme byidentifying the transmission scheme based on the decoded PDCCH of thesecond cell.
 27. A method for wireless communication, comprising:receiving a signal, the signal including at least a first cell signalfrom a first cell; determining a transmission scheme associated with thereceived signal, the determined transmission scheme being one of acommon reference signal (CRS) based transmission scheme or a userequipment reference signal (UE-RS) based transmission scheme, whereinthe determining the transmission scheme comprises determining that thetransmission scheme includes the UE-RS based transmission scheme if asignal-to-noise (SNR) metric is greater than a threshold, anddetermining that the transmission scheme includes the CRS basedtransmission scheme if the SNR metric is less than or equal to thethreshold, processing the received signal based, at least in part, onthe determined transmission scheme.
 28. The method of claim 27, furthercomprising calculating the SNR metric.
 29. The method of claim 28,further comprising: detecting a rank associated with the received signalby at least measuring a covariance on a data portion of the receivedsignal, the SNR metric being calculated based at least in part on therank.
 30. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising: a memory;and at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:receive a signal, the signal including at least a first cell signal froma first cell, determine a transmission scheme associated with thereceived signal, the determined transmission scheme being one of acommon reference signal (CRS) based transmission scheme or a userequipment reference signal (UE-RS) based transmission scheme, whereinthe at least one processor is configured to determine the transmissionscheme by determining that the transmission scheme includes the UE-RSbased transmission scheme if a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) metric isgreater than a threshold, and determining that the transmission schemeincludes the CRS based transmission scheme if the SNR metric is lessthan or equal to the threshold; and process the received signal based,at least in part, on the determined transmission scheme.
 31. Theapparatus of claim 30, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to calculate the SNR metric.
 32. The apparatus of claim 31,wherein the at least one processor is further configured to detect arank associated with the received signal by at least measuring acovariance on a data portion of the received signal, the SNR metricbeing calculated based at least in part on the rank.